Candy Corn
by SadBrokenWings
Summary: Kagome, feeling guilty about missing out on a lot of things with Souta, agrees to chaperon his Halloween party. Kurama, guilty about missing Kokota’s birthday, also chaperons. It seems convenient but the kids are acting suspicious…


DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho

A/N: Hello everyone! I did this one-shot for Autumn 2006 Mini-Fiction Contest and I really want to know what you think and please wish me luck!

By the way, I know that in the original Japanese version, Kurama's brother is named Suuichi as well but I used the English version, Kokota, so that people wouldn't get confused.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

_Summary:_ Kagome, feeling guilty about missing out on a lot of things with Souta, agrees to chaperon his Halloween party. Kurama, guilty about missing Kokota's birthday, also chaperons. It seems convenient but the kids are acting suspicious…

_**oOo**_

She couldn't take it anymore! Her life was completely going wrong! This was supposed to be something out of a fairy tale: girl falls down magical well to be transported 500 years into the past where she meets a gorgeous half-demon and falls in love. Her happily ever after? So not happening.

Kagome took a deep breath to calm herself, she really shouldn't be so angry at InuYasha, it wasn't his fault. She shouldn't have expected him to stay with her, he had been in love with Kikyo long before she had come along. It was a deeper love than what could develop between InuYasha and herself, they were better off just being friends.

"InuYasha…even if you can't love me like you do Kikyo…I will still always stay by your side just as I had promised…but I could really use a boyfriend." Kagome said softly, sighing her disappointment at being alone.

A small 'thud' was heard as Kagome's bag hit the bottom of the well and she sat on the edge, dangling her legs into the blackness below her. She could sense InuYasha's demon energy rapidly approaching and decided to wait for him before leaving. It wouldn't do any good to cause a scene at home, especially with everyone preparing for Halloween.

"Oh Gods! I forgot about Halloween! I still have to get a costume, or maybe my friends already got one for me…oh I hope it's nothing like last year's costume!"

InuYasha had shown up just in time to hear Kagome's rambling about Halloween and was most definitely confused. Of course when it came to things dealing with the future InuYasha was almost always confused, but that didn't mean that he didn't want to learn about things. Alright, he didn't really care that much, but it didn't hurt to make it seem like he might care a little bit, right?

"What do you think you're doin' wench?" Okay, that didn't quite come out right. Whatever, he didn't really need to know about this 'Halloween' business anyways.

Kagome looked over at InuYasha, not getting up from the well because she was determined to leave whether InuYasha liked it or not, and said,

"I forgot about Halloween, it's a holiday that we celebrate at home where people dress up in weird costumes and give out candy and go to parties."

"So what? You don't think I'm actually going to let you leave so that you can do something as stupid as that do you?"

InuYasha was actually thinking,_ 'Does Kagome really want to leave me for _THAT?'

Unfortunately, Kagome isn't a telepath and therefore did not hear what InuYasha was thinking. Because InuYasha's mouth and his brain haven't been properly introduced, he had managed to (again) say the wrong thing. Needless to say, Kagome was quite angry.

Kagome glared at InuYasha, "And who are _you _to tell me what to do? You aren't my mother. I'm going home and I'll be back in a couple of days."

"Oh no you don't!" InuYasha said, leaping toward her and reaching for her as she dropped into the well.

"SIT BOY!" Kagome shouted, giving an undignified 'humph' as she glided through time.

Once Kagome was safely on the other side of the well she snatched up her big yellow bag and gave it a toss up and out of the well, following soon after. The well house was dark and musty, Kagome could see the dust caught in the beams of light that managed to find holes in the tiny house's structure. Suppressing the urge to cough violently at the thought of breathing in so much…the only way to describe it would be "ick," Kagome swiftly bounded out of the well house and was greeted by her mother sweeping the shrine grounds.

Kagome took notice of the fine wrinkles on her mother's fair face and the slight silver light that her hair took and finally realized just how much she was away from home. When her mom turned and smiled at her she couldn't help but smile back. It felt good to be home.

She took a moment to take in the beauty of her home and to chat with Momma for a bit before making her way inside to her ever-clean home. It always smelled like autumn in her house, that was why it was her favorite season, everything reminded her of fall. As she had her eyes closed, breathing in her most favorite of all smells (pumpkin pie!), Kagome was suddenly tackled by her young linebacker of a brother.

"Sis! You're back!" Souta cried, his voice muffled by Kagome's stomach.

"Yep! I've managed to escape the great InuYasha's clutches long enough to celebrate Halloween with you guys!" Kagome laughed, not bothering to make Souta get off of her just yet.

Souta seemed even happier at the mention of Halloween and leapt off of her. He was grinning ear to ear while giving Kagome a kind of puppy-dog look at the same time. Kagome groaned and ran a hand down her face.

"What is it little man?" Kagome asked, knowing she'd regret it before he even said a word.

"Well…..I was kind of wondering, if you had gotten home in time, which you have, if you wouldn't mind…because you're such a great sister and all…chaperoning my Halloween party at school?" He was looking at her with bright and shining eyes and Kagome knew, no matter how hard she tried to resist, she would somehow be chaperoning a party.

"I suppose I could…but wouldn't I need a costume?" She asked, wondering if perhaps her lack of costume would get her out of hanging out with 6th graders all night.

Souta's face dropped for a moment, his disappointment written all over his aura and Kagome felt terribly guilty about wanting to abandon her brother. It wasn't like she was home all the time and could say she was tired of hanging around with him, the truth of the matter was that she wasn't around often enough to realize how much NOT being around was affecting him.

"Well, if I hop in the shower real quick I suppose we can go shopping for a last minute costume…" Kagome offered up in a light voice, watching in delight as her brother's mood brightened considerably.

As he ran up the stairs, Kagome's yellow bag mysteriously in tow, Kagome let out a small sigh.

"That was awfully nice of you dear." Mama Higurashi said from the doorway, a grateful smile on her face, "The school needed another chaperon and I would have done it but you know how Grandpa gets during this holiday…"

Ms. Higurashi trailed off but Kagome knew what she thinking of. Every Halloween, for years now, Gramps would answer the door to trick-or-treaters and assault them with demon wards. The poor children ran away from the shrine crying.

Both women shook their heads at the thought and were broken out of their reverie when Souta shouted down to them from the top of the stairs:

"COME ON SIS! The party's in a few hours and we need to get you a costume!"

Mama Higurashi chuckled at her son's antics and Kagome just gave her mother a smile before jogging up the stairs mock-glaring at Souta. Ms. Higurashi had a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she watched her daughter leave the room.

Needless to say Kagome did not get to enjoy her shower because Souta was practically taking it with her, rushing her along every minute. Kagome almost took back her offer to go costume shopping, not really wanting to go to a party with a Mr. Cranky-Pants, but she didn't. She kept reminding herself that she was doing this to make up for lost time with her brother, though that didn't stop her from yelling at him A LOT.

"SOUTA! I swear if you say one more word about the party being in a few hours I'm going to stab you in the kidney!" Kagome threatened, scaring her brother into a small bit of silence as they walked along the sidewalk.

Enjoying her peace for the moment, Kagome watched as leaves danced around in the breeze, creating some kind of small leaf tornado that died out before it had barely begun. The colors amazed her still to this day, the beautiful reds, oranges and yellows. She let out a contented sigh that quickly turned into a frustrated groan as Souta decided to speak once more.

"Hey Sis?"

"What Souta?" Kagome ground out, not looking over at him for fear she would do something she would regret later.

"I heard this awesome joke at school and I wanted to tell it to you." Kagome glanced over and noticed that he was giving her that happy puppy look again.

"If it's perverted I don't want to hear it, other than that, go ahead."

"OKAY!" Souta was very enthusiastic, "_A psychiatrist gets a new job at an insane asylum, and he's making his rounds for the first time._

'_What's your name?' he asks the first patient he meets._

'_I am Napoleon!' the patient replies._

'_How do you know that?' asks the doctor._

'_God told me so.'_

'_I did not!' yells another patient."_

Kagome giggled, the joke was pretty funny, and she was glad that it wasn't perverted. She didn't like to think that her brother was in any way like Miroku. She got a shudder just thinking about it.

"Who told you that one?" She asked as they entered a costume shop.

My new friend at school, Kokota. He said that his brother taught it to him. His brother is really cool!" Souta was starting to get into his hero worship mode and Kagome wasn't about to stop his little rant. As long as he wasn't talking about the party…

"He's going to be chaperoning at the party too!" Dang! Too late.

"Oh really? Is he nice? If he's anything like Miroku or has a mouth like InuYasha I don't want you to be near him." Kagome had switched into 'protective big sister' mode.

Souta was flipping through some of the costumes left of the rack as he replied, "No way! He's super smart and he's got this awesome red hair and he's a great big brother!"

Kagome suddenly felt guilty about not being around so much again and hurried over to the costumes in hopes of finding one that her brother would approve of. She didn't notice the evil smirk that Souta was wearing.

She tried on quite a few outfits; a cat costume, zombie bride, Sailor Venus from Sailor Moon and a nurse just to name a few. Finally Souta decided that his favorite was the fairy costume she had tried on. It had light blue mesh wings shaped like butterfly wings and the outfit was a velvet-ish blue spaghetti strap dress with white and glitter panty-hose. Her shoes were simple, blue dress flats with white bows on them. The outfit went great with her eyes.

Kagome was surprised that a costume that good was still left in the store but Souta didn't seemed all that surprised about it. In fact, it was almost as if he had known about that dress all along. But that was impossible…wasn't it?

"So…now that we have my costume can we go home now?" Kagome half-whined, tired already from her trying day of costume shopping.

Souta looked down at his watch and gasped, "Oh crap! We gotta get to my girlfriend's house to pick her up really soon! You can change at her house or at the school when we get there, but we don't have time to go home."

Kagome groaned loudly and trudged along behind her brother as he led the way to his girlfriend's house when she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Wait a minute, what about _your _costume Souta? Don't you have to change too?"

"Yeah but my costume is at Hitomi's house so I'm going to change there." Souta answered without missing a beat. Kagome was becoming oddly suspicious of her brother.

"Why is your costume there?"

"I was showing it to her and I left it there by mistake." He shrugged it off but Kagome was still suspicious though she let it go…for the moment.

Hitomi was nice enough, very sweet and soft-spoken. She was dressed as a little princess in a pretty pink dress with a sparkling tiara. Kagome talked with her and her parents a little bit while Souta was changing into his costume, which Kagome had no idea as to what it was until he walked out.

He was a pirate. Eye patch and all. He even had a storyline that went with his costume as well as his girlfriend's. Souta stated that he was a pirate king that had kidnapped a beautiful princess for a ransom but in the end fell in love with her. Kagome found it endearing and was kind of sad that she didn't have someone to think up stuff like that with her. She pouted for a moment before leaving with Souta and his girlfriend, walking toward the school building that was already filling with kids and chaperons.

_**oOo**_

He was a good brother that was why he was at Kokota's school party. Kurama repeated that over and over again in his head as he sat in a chair and watched his brother flirt shamelessly with some of the girls from his class. Had he not felt bad about missing Kokota's birthday because of a mission he might not have been here now; sitting in a school gymnasium in a prince costume that didn't even look like a costume.

'_If I had a girlfriend maybe I could have gotten out of it with the excuse of going on a date with her…' _Kurama thought woefully, regretting turning down the girls who had asked him out whether they were crazy or not.

Now was one of the times that he actually _wanted _Youko to be awake and bothering him but, sadly, that was not the case. And Kurama knew that he would regret it if he woke up his fox counterpart so he sat alone in silence. He readjusted his red bowtie for the millionth time in the past 5 minutes and sighed. To say that Kurama was uncomfortable in his costume would be a major understatement. He had no idea why Kokota had chosen such an outfit for him and, when Kurama had suggested another one, Kokota mentioned his birthday and held up the prince costume.

It was a white tuxedo basically, with a red bow tie and a white mask…sort of like Robin's mask. He was the most dressed up of all of the people at the party, save for a few girls who decided to dress up instead of wear a costume. The way the light was in the building really did wonders to accent his costume and his hair, Youko would be proud of the way they looked now. Of course that didn't stop him from wishing that Kokota would have let him dress up in the ghost costume that seemed oh-so appealing.

Now that he thought of him, Kurama noticed that his step-brother was no longer in front of him and he couldn't see him. He stood elegantly and surveyed the gymnasium, catching sight of his brother in his pirate costume over near the entrance talking to another boy dressed as a pirate and a little girl dressed up as a princess. There was also a girl who looked to be about his age standing there as well, ruffling the hair of the other boy and laughing when he pouted.

She was very pretty, he noted, as he walked over to join the small group his brother was chatting with. He was across the gym in about a minute and the girl that he had been watching was fixing Kokota's eye patch, tightening it so that it wouldn't fall off.

"Kokota?" Kurama asked, easily sliding into the group's small circle without even trying, "You had me worried for a moment there, why didn't you tell me you were going somewhere?" He sounded every part the concerned brother.

"Oh! Suuichi! I'm sorry, I saw Souta and Hitomi here and wanted to greet them!" Kokota apologize, but being a demon Kurama could tell that there was more than just greeting his friends on his mind.

"Really? Well, it's nice to see you again Souta, and you as well Hitomi." Kurama looked up at the girl standing in front of him and gave a small bow, "I don't believe we've met. I'm Minamino, Suuichi and you are…"

"Higurashi, Kagome. It's nice to meet you Suuichi." She replied politely while smiling sweetly. She blushed when he kissed the back of her hand.

'**_But that's to be expected, after all, we ARE dazzling.'_**

'_So, now you decide to wake up?'_

'**_Ah yes, her presence was what woke me, her aura is different from most others and I thought that we might be in danger. She seems to not wish us harm, though she's starting to look a little angry and flustered that you haven't let go of her hand yet…'_**

Kurama left his mental conversation to notice that, yes, Kagome was getting quite flustered that he still had her hand.

"I'm sorry Miss Kagome, it seems that sometimes I forget myself." He apologized, releasing her hand.

The two teens missed the looks exchanged by the children standing around them.

"Hey Sis, lemme show you to the bathroom so you can change and _then _you can flirt with Suuichi some more." Souta said, knowing exactly what he was getting himself into with that comment.

Kagome blushed a deep red, more out of anger than embarrassment and gave Souta a scathing glare saying, "You have to the count of three…I suggest you run Souta…"

Souta gulped but stood his ground, at least, until Kagome started counting.

"1…2…" Souta was sprinting for all he was worth by the time she got to 2 and Kagome started laughing as soon as he was out of earshot before taking off after him.

Kokota was laughing and Hitomi was giggling, watching Kagome casually chase Souta, keeping a playful distance until she thought it was time to end the game. A small smile was playing on Kurama's face as he watched Kagome tickle her brother mercilessly to the ground.

"Kagome's so nice; I wonder why no one dates her…" Kokota mused aloud, watching his brother out of the corner of his eye to gauge his reaction.

Of course, Kurama was a master of deceit and had no problem hiding anything he was feeling. While on the outside he was still watching Kagome and Souta as they walked out to the hall where the bathrooms were, inside he was conversing with the now-awake Youko.

'_I do wonder why no one is dating her…'_

'**_So that we could Little One.'_**

'_Is that so? What if no one dates her because she doesn't date? Or it's because she has a boyfriend in another country?'_

'**_Don't spoil the fun Red, she's got an aura like a priceless artifact…and you know how hard it is for us to resist priceless artifacts.'_**

'_I'm just saying…'_

"Though I do wonder…" Kurama muttered aloud, barely registering that he was being pulled by his hand over to where he had been sitting previous to getting up.

Kokota smiled wickedly and Kurama completely missed his brother's devious look. For being a King of Thieves Kurama sure wasn't on top of his game tonight.

_**oOo**_

Kagome had put on her costume and was now putting her hair up, twisting the long strands together and pinning them to the back of her head, leaving a few strands dangling carelessly. It wasn't the best hairstyle but Kagome thought she pulled it off well and…hey, it was easy to do. Once she was done she left the bathroom only to be pushed back in by Souta with a tube of glitter lip-gloss that he had mysteriously acquired.

Reminding herself that she wasn't home enough, Kagome put on the lip-gloss which tasted strangely like candy corn. It was her favorite Halloween treat. Intent on questioning Souta for all his suspicious behavior, Kagome left the bathroom and found that Souta was no longer standing outside the door. He was gone and Kagome was certain that she would find him in the gym with his girlfriend Hitomi, burning up the dance floor.

Kagome sighed, wishing that she had a boyfriend. Of course he would have to be unafraid of InuYasha should he choose to show up at anytime during their relationship and he would have to not think her crazy when she finally musters up the courage to tell him about her past adventures and…

"Ohh…" Kagome groaned, "Maybe I should have gone 'trick-or-treating' with Yuka, Eri and Ayumi, I might've found a guy I could consider a 'treat.'"

The thing with 'trick-or-treating' with Yuka, Eri and Ayumi was that they didn't really go trick-or-treating so much as dress up in rather revealing costumes and hop from party to party in hopes of snagging a guy. Their favorite game on Halloween was called "Treat for Kagome." The trio would drag Kagome around with them to different parties trying to find her a boyfriend.

"Why does life have to be so complicated?" Kagome asked no one in particular as she walked into the gymnasium.

When she walked in Kurama couldn't take her eyes off of her. She looked stunning in her fairy costume; though she seemed quite uncomfortable with the attention she was receiving. All the male teachers were staring openly at her and Kurama decided to assist her.

"Allow me the pleasure of your company Miss Kagome?" Kurama asked with his hand extended toward her.

Kagome eyed him for a minute, not believing that she had a _prince _coming to her rescue. But, finally, she nodded and smiled, accepting his hand and allowing him to lead her away.

"Thank you! I hate it when that happens…this is all Souta's fault!" Kagome grumbled, watching the floor as though it fascinated her.

"It's my pleasure. But, I was wondering, why this is all your brother's fault." Kurama asked, hoping he wasn't being rude.

Kagome flushed a pretty shade of red before looking up at him and looking away again, "He knows that every time I come to his school I get…_unwanted attention._ And he went and picked out this stupid costume knowing what would happen!

It's not that I'm upset about being here, I totally owe him this, but a few of those teachers creep me out! A few sometimes get too close for comfort." Her blush darkened and she was still looking down.

'**_Of all the nerve! Approaching an unwilling girl…'_**

'_I would have to agree Youko that is quite low. I think we should help her out tonight.'_

"Miss Kagome, would it bother you too much to allow me to escort you tonight?" Kurama inquired, watching as she brought her eyes up to meet his.

"What? Y-you don't have to, I'm perfectly capable of defending myself should the need arise…" She continued to ramble, feeling as though she was imposing on his night out.

"_Shhh…_this is not a problem, I would be honored to enjoy the evening with you." He would hear no more of her protesting.

"But…" Kurama gave her a stern look and she sighed in defeat, "Alright, on one condition. No more calling me Miss Kagome, it's just Kagome, I don't handle formalities well."

_**oOo**_

Souta, Kokota and Hitomi were hiding behind the bleachers, watching as Kurama offered Kagome his hand and led her out onto the dance floor. They all giggled madly. Their plan was working perfectly!

"I hope this turns out right, if not I'm returning Kagome's costume and getting my money back. I had to rake a lot of yards to make sure that guy kept it on hold!" Souta said vehemently.

Kokota gave his friend a bop on the head and snorted, "Of course it'll work stupid, no girl can turn down Suuichi…though he seems to turn down an awful lot of them…" He sounded doubtful at the end of his sentence.

"Now shush. It's obvious that they like each other! It's going to work. I just can't believe that they didn't notice that this was a plan to get them together." Hitomi said, being the motherly figure of the group.

"Well Kokota only had to mention that Suuichi had missed his birthday to get him to do anything we wanted while Kagome's been gone with Inu…Yasha…Oh shoot!"

"What?" Hitomi and Kokota asked in unison.

"I forgot about InuYasha, he's like Kagome's boyfriend only he's got a girlfriend. I hope he doesn't show up or find out about Suuichi, he's very strong."

"Humph! Suuichi is an awesome fighter! This 'InuYasha' guy wouldn't be able to beat my brother." Kokota replied with his hero worship egging his sentence on.

"I hope so…"

_**oOo**_

"Thank you Suuichi, for playing my bodyguard tonight…I don't know what I would've done without you."

Kurama handed her a soda, "Like I said, it's my pleasure. Now, why don't you tell me about yourself."

"Umm…I do a lot of traveling _(if he only knew) _and I am very interested in history. There's this little boy I know, I'm teaching him to read now, he is practically my son. He's so adorable and so well-behaved despite the models in his life." She had gone into 'mother-mode.'

"With you as a model he most certainly can't turn out badly." Kurama complimented.

Kagome blushed, "Thank you. I'm not the only one looking out for him though. The men that he knows are terrible influences! Miroku such a pervert and InuYasha…well, he's InuYasha."

Youko and Kurama caught the sad love-sick sigh that she seemed hard-pressed to keep in and realized that she was in love with this 'InuYasha' fellow.

'**_But he cannot have her! It's obvious that we are better for her, we haven't made her sad once.'_**

"What of InuYasha? Why is he such a bad influence?"

Kagome's sadness rapidly turned into anger.

"He's nothing but a two-timing jerk! He has his stupid girlfriend but every time Koga or Hojo come around it's like I belong to him. I am _no one's _property! And he also has a filthy vocabulary."

'_So there are other guys vying for her attention as well? Interesting.'_

'**_But we are the best of them all!'_**

"I see, so do you think he would mind if I did this?" Kurama asked, watching as she calmed down from her heated anger and turned to ask him what he was talking about.

He swept down and gently brushed his lips over hers, enjoying it when she relaxed against him and allowed him better access to her mouth. Of course, being a gentleman, he didn't take this kiss too far and pulled away.

That was when both of them heard the giggling and clapping coming from underneath the bleachers. The three kids didn't notice that they had been spotted and went about their rambunctious behavior. Kagome looked to Kurama who raised his eyebrows in response before grabbing her by the hand and leading her to the bleachers.

They were silent in their sneaking and Youko made a comment to Kurama that Kagome would make a very good thief with some practice. Together they stood behind the trio as they were congratulating themselves on a job well done and they didn't stop until Kagome cleared her throat.

"Just _what _is going on here?" She asked, looking directly at Souta, knowing him to be a mastermind when it came to scheming.

Souta, Kokota and Hitomi fidgeted for a moment before Souta looked at Kagome with an evil grin.

"Well…Ayumi, Yuka and Eri taught me this Halloween game they play called 'Treat for Kagome'…"

Kagome groaned, she had a feeling she knew where this was going and that the treat at the end of the story wasn't going to be candy corn.


End file.
